Inmate overpowers deputy at hospital, flees to nearby home before fatally shooting himself

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — An inmate being treated at a hospital in Ohio overpowered a sheriff’s deputy who was guarding him Friday and took his gun before fleeing to a nearby home where he was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.

The inmate, whose name was not released, attacked the Montgomery County deputy shortly after 1 p.m. at Kettering Health Dayton, the Dayton Police Department said in a news release. Police said one shot was fired in the hospital, but didn’t say if it was fired by the inmate or the deputy.

Police soon tracked the inmate to a nearby home and forced entry into the residence after they heard a shot fired inside the house. The inmate was soon found and was pronounced dead there a short time later, authorities said.

The inmate did not appear to have any connection with the home or anyone who lived there, authorities said, and it wasn’t immediately clear if anyone was in the home at the time. Information about why the inmate was in the jail was not disclosed.

The deputy, whose name was not released, was treated at the hospital for undisclosed injuries that were not considered life-threatening, authorities said. No other officers and no one at the hospital was injured.

Dayton Police will lead the investigation into the escape and the shooting.